SIX YEARS OF WORDPRESS

PING! “Congratulations on your 6 year anniversary achievement with WordPress”. What a delightful way to start this morning! It is after all my sixth year anniversary of having been registered with WordPress.com. A long tireless learning curve, that introduced me to this wonderful world of blogging and the mystical world of writers.

I logged into WordPress for the first time in 2016, at a time when I was consciously struggling to express myself, virtually and in reality. At an age of 25, when you are expected to have formulated the cognitive ability to deliver thoughts and words, I was poised with the difficult idea of unlearning, re-learning, and putting myself out across to the world. It was a difficult position, learning that you lacked in speech and delivery, and accepting that rejection was not an abnormality.

This led me to register myself as a “The Boringbug”, the saga of a boring personality and a hidden introvert to change himself for the better. A journey full of learnings and nostalgia, something that I shall try to navigate you through in years. The ways I upped myself, year after year, entered the blog into Google’s top 10 for keywords that did not exist, and converting it into a secretive hobby.

Roll yourself below to witness this ride:

1. 2017

It was in 2017 that I registered my domain name and started writing on weekly/monthly basis. The writings were primarily philosophical thoughts and life experiences, written with the sole purpose of articulating my ideas and working on my delivery. In the entire period, I interacted with many aspiring writers, professional bloggers and readers, read hundreds of blog and revised my blog every week, but, it was not until later when I wrote the difference between literacy and education. Google picked up the content and made it the top ranked post in its search results.

I realised that there are two types of writings in the world of SEO: quality and quantity. Google picked up the latter to match the keyword requirements, and majority of readers wished for a simpler English rather than an eloquent one.

2. 2018

This was the year that reflected the impact of blogging on my real world. I was contributing my write ups as guest posts with fellow bloggers, and receiving invitations to become part of writing initiatives. A look at the graph will highlight the spontaneous growth of 527% with a total of 57,666 organic views. It also happened to be the year that I experimented the most with this blog. Altering posts to understand SEO’s and playing with the keywords.

I revised my writing into the following:

1. introduction,
2. context, and
3. conclusion.

In my real life, this hobby started shaping me up. I managed to deliver guest lectures at 6 different postgraduate institutions based on my learnings above, having reworked on my word articulation and delivery. This continued in hindsight of a job that occupied 90% of my daily life.

3. 2019

The year that had the biggest impact on my life. In blogging sense, boringbug was garnering daily organic views, many posts were in the top 10 or top 20 of the search engines, whereas in real life I decided to pursue my dream and shifted to a new country. It was the year where I decided to put all my learnings from here to real and bare myself to the world without any inhibitions.

The blog views skyrocketed to 268,369 views, whereas I slowly disappeared into a dream called London.

4. 2020

The year of disaster, or the year of Pandemic as they call it. I was poised with two options in life again, to seclude myself into a corner and write or to brave the loneliness by making the best of the lockdown. This time I opted for the latter. It was difficult for me to sustain the blog, but it was my baby that I could not let go off. As I garnered real life experiences, the blog survived on its own. A few random posts here and there, but it sustained and so did I.

5. 2021

The year of return that brought me out as a changed person. The impact can be seen in my writing. I started writing scarcely, slowly returning to the reality. However, the learning that I gained here at WordPress made me attune to the fear of rejection. It could not deter my grit or will.

One wisdom I would like to impart here, if you wish to grow your blog, you need to understand your niche and be in constant touch with the fellow bloggers. It is their and your active participation that thrives your blog.

If you write for the fun of writing, as do I, it is recommended that you keep an eye on the active WordPress community.

6. 2022

As the boringbug dwindled down, my real life started stepping up. I do not actively voice out my political opinion due to conflicting roles, and I seldom express my creative self which will otherwise dig your heart out of your arse. This was a tiring time to keep this blog alive, and I realised that your mettle is best tested when the going gets tough. Travelling was on my card, witnessed and experienced a lot of stories, stories which were supposed to be shared with the world. Alas! Life again took over.

So, what am I going to do with this? I wonder.

I will write, and write again.
The Boringbug is me, and I am him!